Moving upmarket and selling premium cars can be a winning business strategy. However, for businesses looking to enter the market or diversify their existing line of vehicles, techniques effective at selling cars at higher price points require different marketing approaches than those used to sell cheaper vehicles. Any marketing strategy for a high-end car brand needs to extol the quality of the car, and by extension, the person buying it.

Quality Materials

Your marketing materials must make the quality of the car clear. To accomplish that, they have to be high-quality products themselves. Through words and pictures, allow your customers to visualize what sets them apart. Show them what they’re paying for – and do it with top-quality photographs, paper, TV production or radio ads. Saving a few dollars on marketing in the beginning could bring a much bigger loss if they cause customers not to take you seriously because of them.

Comfort Factor

A high-end car should make customers feel good about themselves, and allow their passengers to ride in style. Make that self-indulgence a key element of your marketing strategy. From the seat material, to the climate control, to how the car handles, customers want to see their high-end car as an oasis to escape from whatever may be hassling them outside its windows. Marketing the luxury of the driving experience helps sell the car.

Push the Brand

Luxury car brands have to give their customers a reason to brag. Think about what makes the cars you sell worth the premium price. Rolls-Royce sells durability as well as its brand history, with 75 percent of the cars it has ever made still on the road. Others are associated with dominant racing teams. The interior of one car might feature hand-polished wood, while another might have unmatched technology for the dashboard and entertainment system. Of course, don’t be shy about pushing the status symbol of the car. The status symbol of prosperity and luxury is worth a large premium to some buyers.

Trade-Offs

If you sell cheaper brands as well as premium models, it increases the challenge of marketing your high-end cars seem credible without cannibalizing the rest of your business. In that case, talking about luxury car products and features only invites customers to compare those numbers with that of less-expensive models, particularly since many mid-price models now offer elements once limited to the luxury market. Create an image about the owner experience, not a comparison of which has more horsepower and gets better gas mileage.

Size Doesn’t Matter

Luxury cars don’t have to massive, or carry a six-figure price tag. Companies increasingly are selling compact cars under their premium brand names, hoping the low price attracts younger buyers or other demographics that want their luxury cars now without waiting until middle age. It also protects car sellers during a recession, since buyers can maintain brand status without spending quite as much money. If you offer these smaller high-end cars, you can target more potential customers and increase your base accordingly.